Tradition
by kandyshipper
Summary: Sandy's Chrismukah tradition is the simple sharing of favorite stories and memories.
1. Tradition

**Title: Tradition**

**Fandom: _The O.C._**

**Rating: PG**

**Characters: Ryan, Seth, Kirsten, Sandy, others may make cameo appearances**

**Archive: Ask first please, I'll say yes, I just want to know where it's going**

**Spoilers: Nothing specific but all of season 1, just be safe**

**Part: 1/5**

**Summary: It was Sandy's tradition, it was nothing more than a the sharing of simple stories and memories, a chance for everybody to share their favorite moments of their lives together**

**A/N: My sister, Gabby, thinks my fic is too sad, this is the first part of one of two fics I'm currently for her, it is pretty much pure fluff**

**_I don't own The O.C. sad as that fact is, Josh Schwartz et.al do._**

Sandy smiles as he sits on the floor a glass of eggnog in his hand, Kirsten is sits beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder, an exhausted, happy smile spreading across her face as her two sons, their two sons, hers and Sandy's enter the room, Ryan carrying a bottle of coke and Seth a huge bowl of popcorn, they flopped down on to the over-stuffed white sofa.

The lights on the Christmas tree were casting a faint, dancing luminescence over the room, there were four stockings thrown down on the floor nest to the unlit fireplace, there was no need to light it, it was still 60 degrees outside.

"So," Sandy began excitedly, "You know what time it is?"

"Bedtime?" Kirsten mumbled into his shoulder.

"Yes, we all know what time it is dad." Seth groaned.

Ryan just smiled; this was his favorite part of Chrismukah as simple as it was, it didn't involve the giving of extravagant gifts or a huge feast, it was nothing more than a the sharing of simple stories and memories, a chance for everybody, but especially Kirsten, who has never been particularly good at expressing her love for her boys, to share their favorite moments of their lives together. It was Sandy's tradition and he cherished it deeply, he watched as Sandy wrote all their names on small pieces of paper then place them into a bowl.

"Ryan, why don't you do the draw this year?" Sandy asked smiling as he handed the bowl to Ryan, Ryan cheeks flushed as he accepted the bowl. This was his second Chrismukah with the Cohen's and it was still a little surprising to him that they were so willing to include him in their traditions.

Ryan placed his hand into the bowl and picked out a meticulously folded piece of paper, laughing slightly as he unfolded it.

"That piece of paper has my name on it, doesn't it?" Seth yelped blushing a deep shade of red.

"Yep." Ryan replied.

"Dad, I always get drawn first." Seth whined.

Sandy shrugged his shoulders "That's the way it goes."

"Not fair." Seth pouted.

"Kirsten, now because you are sitting directly to the left of Seth, you get to tell your story first." Sandy announced even though they were all well aware of the rules of the tradition.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Kirsten said in mock exasperation. Sandy places a gentle kiss on his wife forehead, well aware of how difficult it is for her to verbalize her feelings; the Nichol's were for the most part an unaffectionate family especially since Kirsten's mother had died.

Sandy laughed at Seth who was pretending to have a panic attack over what may come out of his mother's mouth but Sandy knew that Seth would, like every year, cherish her, cherish all of their stories.

Kirsten moved her head from Sandy's shoulder, kissing him passionately before crawling across the floor to sit along side Seth, unconsciously running her hand through his tangled mess of curls as she started to speak.

Her voice was faltering and unsure and just as he had last year Ryan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sandy feeling decidedly lonely on his side of the room crawled over to Kirsten's feet and stared massaging them.

All three of her boys could feel her relax as she continued her story.


	2. Kirsten's Seth Story

"Alright," Kirsten's voice is small as she begins her story; she is looking at her son though the veil of hair that has fallen across her face and into her eyes.

"Well when Seth was five years old, he must have been five because it was the first mothers day after we moved back to Newport from Berkeley, Seth decided that he was going to make me breakfast." A smile spread across her face at the thought of her then five year old son, Seth was so small when he was young too, he was always the smallest in his class it had surprised both Sandy and Kirsten when he was one of the first if not the first to hit puberty, attempting to make her breakfast.

"This is going somewhere good." Ryan interjected a huge smile on his face while Seth attempted to hit him, missing miserably and whacking his hand hard against the side of the coffee table instead.

Ryan loved to hear stories about Seth when he was little; he often wondered if anybody had bothered to store away in their mind memories of him as a young child.

"As you can imagine, Seth, who was hoping, I assume, that I was still asleep so he could surprise me, was making a ridiculous amount of noise, but I just lay in bed and pretended that I was still asleep, because I thought that Sandy must have been down there with him and I didn't want to ruin his surprise, anyway about five minutes later I heard the fire alarm going off and Seth screaming at the top of his lungs."

"I can imagine." Sandy laughed resulting in Seth hitting him across the back of the head.

"You weren't there?" Ryan asked.

"Nope, I'm sure Kirsten will get to where I was in a minute." Sandy replied still laughing.

"So I run downstairs, I was panicking; all I can think is that my little boy is on fire." Kirsten said her eyes getting wide at the memory.

"She had come downstairs in such a hurry that she had forgotten to get a robe or anything, I remember that, all she was wearing was a Berkeley sweatshirt and her underpants." Seth interrupted.

"How come you're allowed to say underpants? Kirsten asked.

"Because it is better than panties." Seth replied sticking his tongue out.

"True." Sandy agreed.

"Who was telling the story here?" Ryan asked anxious to hear the rest of Kirsten story and struggling to imagine her as anything other than the cool, calm, collected woman he has come to know in the last year and a half.

"I was." Kirsten looked up at him smiling. "So I get down to the kitchen and the toaster had jammed down burning the toast Seth had tried to make and he was standing in the middle of the room, totally fine but screaming his head off, I was so relieved I burst into tears, which only frightened Seth more, he ran outside screaming 'I'm sorry mommy.' Over and over, the kitchen was a disaster zone, there was flour and sugar and cereal all over the floor, I was standing there laughing and crying for about five minutes before I went outside to find Seth."

"She still hadn't put any clothes on by the way." Seth said making gagging noises.

"Thankyou Seth for your insight," Kirsten laughed. "I went outside and found Seth hiding behind a pot plant that was in our driveway back then, I was still crying, he was still yelling 'I'm sorry mommy." So I picked him up and told him that everything as going to be OK and that I hadn't meant to cry, I was just glad he was OK."

"Then I came back." Sandy said looking guilty.

"Yeah, Sandy came back and he was looking really confused and frightened." Kirsten was giggling like a schoolgirl as she said that, Ryan loved this side of her, he didn't get to see it all that often, the side of her that was totally unguarded.

"I had left them in bed like an hour before, now they were both outside wearing next to no clothing, crying hysterically, I think I had a right to look confused and frightened to say the least." Sandy injected, mock seriously.

"I was yelling at him, I was trying to hit him with my free hand, I wanted to know where the hell he had been and he was all nonchalant after realizing we were OK so he just goes 'Honey I was surfing, like I do every morning.' I was so angry at him then, I made him clean up the kitchen and get us breakfast while Seth and I went up to my room to open up the presents Sandy and Seth had brought me, then I banned him from surfing for a month." Kirsten smiled as she said the last sentence.

"It turns out and I don't even know if Sandy knows this, well I had assumed that Sandy knew about Seth's little plan and had just decided to go surfing anyway but Seth told me last year that he had set his alarm clock for five minutes after Sandy left, Sandy had no idea, neither of us had any idea that Seth could even tell the time." Kirsten leaned against Sandy again as she finished her story.

"That wasn't that bad." Seth smiled while pretending to wipe sweat from his brow.

"Now it is Sandy's turn, I think you need to pass me that popcorn there Seth." Ryan said laughing.

Seth didn't miss when he attempted to hit Ryan this time.


End file.
